Milagro is the Spanish word for miracle. In Central and South America small milagro charms are found on votives, altars, and other places of worship. They’re small offerings or prayer tokens that people pray over about a specific need and then leave at a sacred place to offer all of their prayers about that need. If you’ve ever been to a church or a religious space where people leave milagros, the sight is overwhelming. It’s a beautiful tradition.

My first encounter with a milagro was entirely non-religious. Do you remember Baz Luhrmann’s Romeo + Juliet? In the branding of that film and among the many scenes there are several sacred heart milagros. They’re colorful hearts with fire, swords, thorns, or other times surrounding them. I loved them. No idea why, but I was obsessed with them. I started looking up what they were and learned about the religious practice associated with milagros. Sacred heart milagros are part of that practice, but the iconography of a heart shape with fire emerging from the top, or pierced by a knife, or crowned (and many other styles) is particularly associated with the 1600s when Saint Margaret Mary Alacocque said Jesus appeared to her and showed her the image. Today, there are all styles of the sacred heart, and it’s seen on everything from bags to walls displaying unconditional love.

So that’s the back story behind this tree. It’s one that I’ve wanted to do for a while. It’s also one, that I tried really hard not to over-do (which is difficult for me). So instead of painting all of my handmade milagros a million bright and beautiful colors, I decided to keep with the traditional palette of silver, red, and gold.